Trump lifts shipping restrictions for Puerto Rico relief

NEW YORK POST – YARON STEINBUCH

President Trump on Thursday waived shipping restrictions to help get fuel and supplies to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, the White House announced.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted that the president, at the request of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello, “has authorized the Jones Act be waived for Puerto Rico. It will go into effect immediately.”

The Jones Act requires that all goods shipped between US ports be carried by American-owned and -operated ships.

The announcement came shortly after Rossello told CNBC that he was seeking lines of credit at “reasonable rates” from the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury to rebuild the island.

The governor said he had yet to receive a commitment for new loans to help pay the cleanup and eventual rebuilding costs.

The US territory, which was slammed by Hurricane Maria eight days ago, expects “equal treatment” to hurricane-stricken Florida and Texas when it comes to allocating relief resources, he said.